The present invention relates to a vehicle body construction associated with the ceiling of the vehicle, and more particularly to a vehicle body construction which conceals a space defined between the weather strip and the roof panel in a vehicle.
The ceiling facing the passenger compartment in a vehicle can be adapted so that it is fixed to the roof panel of the vehicle by using a device which attaches along the edge of the ceiling. Some prior art does exist for fixing the ceiling to the roof panel as evidenced in FIGS. 5 and 6.
The prior art in FIG. 5 shows the roof ceiling edge 11 fixed to the roof panel through the use of a ceiling trim device 4a. A weather strip 3a was placed upon the edge of the outer roof panel and held in position by the resilient characteristics of the material comprising the weather strip 3a. Inner extensions on both sides of the weather strip 3a hold the strip to the outer roof panel.
As apparent from FIG. 5, there is a defined space between the inner end 300a of the weather strip 3a and the curved flange 41a near the outer end of the ceiling trim device 4a. Therefore, when the weather strip 3a is placed on the edge of the outer roof panel, a space B1 is created. When viewing this connection mechanism from direction "A", the space B1 is recognizable, thus impairing the aesthetic view as well as creating an area for moisture and dirt to accumulate.
Another example of the prior art is disclosed in FIG. 6. Here the ceiling 1 is fixed to the roof panel by a screw S passing through the ceiling trim device 4b. The screw S fastens the ceiling trim device 4b to the roof panel B of the vehicle and after being fully engaged protrudes into the opening H which is within the roof panel. According to the prior art, a passenger can see the screw S and the inverted trough, which is necessary to accomodate screw S, which, unfortunately, also acts as a dirt accumulation area. Therefore, both forms of prior art indicated in FIGS. 5 and 6, impair the aesthetic view and create problems of moisture or dirt accumulation.